1948 Ford Deluxe Sedan

L

ljdriver

Junior Member
Hello all. I recently purchased a 1948 Ford Deluxe Sedan that's in very nice shape, mostly original. I came across a strange thing today while under the car. There are two coil springs mounted between the front axle and the frame. They appear to be some sort of a kit, they don't look to be some add on that was cobbled up. The Ford Green Bible doesn't show anything like it and I'm unable to come up with anything in a Google search. Does anyone know if this was a kit offered by some company or anything else about it? My thought is to remove the springs and keep the car in original shape.

Any information will be greatly appreciated...
 
Can you post a photo of the springs? They sound like after-market "helper springs" to compensate for additional weight... Does the car have the original (or replacement) 59A Flathead in it?
 
Vic Piano said:
Can you post a photo of the springs? They sound like after-market "helper springs" to compensate for additional weight... Does the car have the original (or replacement) 59A Flathead in it?
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No, it's the original engine, flat head V8. I'll take a picture tomorrow and post it. Thanks for the reply.
 
ljdriver said:
No, it's the original engine, flat head V8. I'll take a picture tomorrow and post it. Thanks for the reply.
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Here's a picture of the right front of the car. It shows the coil spring sandwiched between the axle and the frame above it.
 

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I'll bet it sits high in the front. I can't see how it is mounted to the axle. If the seat on the axle looks like it should be mounted to a round tube it could be an old kit designed for the rear end. Think whisky runners.
 
40cpe said:
I'll bet it sits high in the front. I can't see how it is mounted to the axle. If the seat on the axle looks like it should be mounted to a round tube it could be an old kit designed for the rear end. Think whisky runners.
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Well, tomorrow I'm going to remove it and then I'll take a picture of the assembly and post it here. It really doesn't sit high in the front. Actually, when I raised the car on my lift and the weight was off the front tires, one of the springs fell out. I think there would be a problem if a large bump was hit.......LOL
 
I have a set of helper coils that came on the back of my 51 F1, mounted just like that looks almost factory. Coil fits over the rubber bumper stop on the frame.
 
This morning I removed the springs and took a picture of them. They fit over the rubber bumper attached to the frame and the axle mounting piece was attached to the axle buy a muffler clamp. The piece that was attached to the axle is aluminum and has the name Superior molded into it. It also was made to fit over a round axle and not the Ford front axle. In any event, I removed them and will soon see if they make any difference when off.......LOL
 

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Those look like the standard run of the mill overload / helper springs. Think they were used a lot in the 60s and 70s. Why you would install them on a front axle is a mystery. They were intended to not do much of anything until a heavier than normal load was added to the vehicle, then they provided extra support to keep the rear of the car from sagging. I ran them on a station wagon in the mid-70s, also used the ones that have an airbag in them.
 
I think that kit was to help the car to stay level in high speed turns. When i was young and road racing my 46 Ford 4 door sedan i considered making something similar to that, but never pursued it. Just bought a nice 59 Ford .
 
Marv said:
I think that kit was to help the car to stay level in high speed turns. When i was young and road racing my 46 Ford 4 door sedan i considered making something similar to that, but never pursued it. Just bought a nice 59 Ford .
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That would be an interesting application.
 
Marv said:
I think that kit was to help the car to stay level in high speed turns. When i was young and road racing my 46 Ford 4 door sedan i considered making something similar to that, but never pursued it. Just bought a nice 59 Ford .
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Wouldn't work as well as the stock anti-sway bar that should already be on the front of the car.
 
In your first picture...what is going on just beyond the coil? Is that a torch cut in the crossmember?
I think everything up there needs scrutiny, as overloads in front are unusual. Load up there doesn't vary much in use, a sagged spring or need for more spring for heavy loads is much more common in back. You might have a very tired spring there or perhaps a broken leaf.
Those extras would be pretty ineffective against roll...much narrower spread than standard spring or standard anti-roll bar.
 
Back in the day, places like Western Auto, Warshawsky, and others sold them as "help kits" for sagging and/or broken springs. After the war, parts were still hard to get, and expensive, so the "helpers" were a crutch until a newer car could be had.
 
Bruce Lancaster said:
In your first picture...what is going on just beyond the coil? Is that a torch cut in the crossmember?
I think everything up there needs scrutiny, as overloads in front are unusual. Load up there doesn't vary much in use, a sagged spring or need for more spring for heavy loads is much more common in back. You might have a very tired spring there or perhaps a broken leaf.
Those extras would be pretty ineffective against roll...much narrower spread than standard spring or standard anti-roll bar.
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I just went out and took a look at that area with the spring now removed. That pic was taken with the car jacked up and the spring hanging down. What looks like a torch cut is the sheet metal over the spring which has been undercoated and then painted on top of that I think.

I drove the car today and cannot tell the difference without the spring installed. I really don't know why it was there.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies. It appears that it was someone's brainstorm and it's now laying on the floor in my garage. Anyone need some overload springs cheap? LOL
 
I'm with Bruce. Looking just to the left of the coil is some shabby looking welds. I would sure be looking the whole front end over closely.

190328
 
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